


We Are Riot

by tomlinsuave



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crack, Other, carlton drake trying to date riot, truly a tragic tale
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-08 13:18:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16430129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomlinsuave/pseuds/tomlinsuave
Summary: Eddie and Venom get trapped on Carlton Drake's space probe, along with Drake and Riot themselves. Drake gets jealous of Eddie and Venom's relationship and tries to replicate it with his own symbiote. Riot does not appreciate this.





	1. Venom Is Not Normal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This became much more serious than it ever had the right to.

Eddie doesn’t know quite how it happened, but he has to face that his circumstance is inescapable. He’s trapped on Drake’s rocket. With Drake. And therefore also with Riot. Terrible.

**Eddie, we can still escape. We can break the window.**

“No, we can’t. You know I need oxygen to like, breathe. Also I think the ship would blow up or something.”

**Still worth trying.**

“It’s really not!”

Despite his not-quite-helpful suggestions, Eddie is very thankful to have Venom with him. Only five minutes into his trip to another planet that will surely bring about the death of humanity as he knows it, Eddie already feels anxious and scared. Venom alone keeps him feeling safe and anchored to reality.

**Hah. Gay.**

“Shut up! This is like, objectively a bad situation--I think I have the right to be scared!”

**Don’t be scared, Eddie. Riot is nothing. No one likes him. He’s not even powerful.**

“You really think so?”

**No. I just wanted you to not be scared. How could he have captured us if he wasn’t powerful, Eddie?**

“Ugh. You got me there, I guess.”

-

It’s only after an hour of playful banter that Carlton Drake emerges from the cockpit. He’s in human form, but Eddie can still feel Venom alert and vigilant within him. Since the rocket’s exit from Earth’s atmosphere and field of gravity, Eddie has had to grip the handles scattered on all sides of the rocket, as not to completely lose control of his situation. Venom is helping.

Drake moves easily through the spacecraft, clearly already accustomed to the environment. He stumbles slightly as he approaches, before catching himself and smiling at Eddie. 

**Creepy.**

Eddie silently agrees. 

Drake’s smile falls as he observes Venom’s tendrils peeking out from beneath Eddie’s sleeves, keeping him steady. He opens his mouth to speak, but Eddie interrupts him.

“So, how are there different rooms in a rocket?”

“... What?”

Eddie smiles, happy to have flustered Drake, even if it wasn’t his intention yet.

“I mean, like, you’ve obviously spent a lot of money on this thing, so why do you have different rooms? Wouldn’t it be more efficient to just have everything in one space? Especially since I don’t think you were expecting us to be on this trip. This just seems like way too much space for one person, you know?”

**Yes, Eddie. Call that creep out.**

Drake stares at Eddie for a few seconds before making his way out of the room. 

“If you’re going to be an idiot, Mr. Brock, then I won’t explain what’s going on here at all,” he announces on his way out.

Eddie is silent for a moment. “Maybe I shouldn’t have done that. I do kind of want to know where we’re going. And how long we’re going to be here.”

**No, Eddie, you did well. I could feel Riot within him. He was going to hurt us.**

“Really? It didn’t seem like he was going to do anything too bad. I believe you, though. Drake’s fucking evil, I swear.”

**Not Drake, Riot.**

“Yeah, same difference.”

-

Drake listens to Eddie speaking for a few minutes before returning to the cockpit. He feels a pang of jealousy, but represses it before he can analyze its source. Riot takes control of Drake’s hands over the control panel.

“I wonder why Eddie thought I was going to hurt him. I just wanted to disclose the trip’s itinerary to him. I don’t want any uninformed guests on this ship--lest something go wrong,” Drake speaks aloud. There’s a silence. “Don’t you think that was strange, Riot?”

**Why are you talking to me? This is not pertinent information.**

“I--I heard Eddie doing it. I thought discussion might be a good solution to the inevitable obstacle of boredom during this trip. We are going to be on this ship for approximately 564 days, social interaction will be necessary.”

**Symbiotes do not require social interaction.**

“Oh, interesting.” There’s another silence. “What else do symbiotes not require?”

**I am manning a spacecraft, I cannot be distracted.**

“Right, sorry.”

-

“Fuck, there’s nothing to do on here,” Eddie whines. Drake has been in the cockpit for hours now, alleviating Eddie of some of his earlier fear, but contributing to his growing frustration.

**We can go exploring.**

“Fuck no, I’m not touching anything in here. Like, that button over there could explode this whole rocket, for all I know.”

**We’re hungry, Eddie.**

“Ugh, god, really? Now?”

**Yes.**

“Okay, okay, that’s fine. Everything’s fine,” Eddie hyperventilates, “Just--Just don’t eat Drake okay?”

**Why not? He doesn’t look like he would taste good, but he is the only food on the ship. And he is a bad person.**

“No, no, no. He’s the only guy here who can drive this thing. We’ll die here alone.”

**You’re never alone, Eddie.**

“I know, I know. I just mean--I don’t think we could drive a Life Foundation rocket on our own.”

**We can do anything together, Eddie.**

“Okay, whatever, just don’t eat Drake, trust me.”

**So what can we eat, Eddie?**

“I… I don’t know.” Eddie flits his eyes around the room. He sees hundreds of drawers and compartments, but he doesn’t know what to expect inside of them, given Drake’s eccentric personality. He opts for a more drastic action.

“Drake!” Eddie calls out, consciously erasing any uncertainty or fear from his countenance. It takes him a few minutes to arrive, but he does.

“Brock? Did I hear you say my name?” Drake asks, a ghost of a smile visible in his expression.

“Yeah, don’t let it go to your head. Venom’s hungry.”

Drake seems surprised. “Is he? Riot must be hungry as well, in that case. Well, you don’t need to worry, Riot assured that I pack enough more than enough meals to last him four times the length of our journey. It’s all in the cargo bay.”

**Heads.**

“Yeah, uh,” Eddie says eloquently, aware of the delicate nature of the situation. “Venom was wondering what exactly these uh, ‘meals’ are?”

Drake sends him a pointed look in return. “Tell Venom that he can speak to me directly if he so desires. He doesn’t need to use you as a vehicle.” 

Venom takes advantage of the opportunity, oozing his head from Eddie’s chest.  **“Heads,”** he hisses. Drake is undeterred. 

“Yes, we do have heads. I had several hundred volunteers for the symbiote experiment whom I didn’t have enough time to test, so I had them placed in liquid nitrogen containers. The cryogenic freezing should last indefinitely, so you and Riot will both have fresh meat readily available.”

Venom grins and receded back into Eddie’s body.

**Drake is a good person.**

“He is not!” Eddie shouts indignantly. Drake stares at him impassively. “Sorry, I was talking to Venom. But anyway, don’t you think that’s kind of… insane? You know you’re going to have to see it when Riot eats those innocent people. It’s fucked up. Wasn’t there another way to, like, sustain them or whatever?”

Drakes impression doesn’t change. “This was the easiest way.”

“Fuck.” Eddie feels Venom’s need inside of him. “Okay, just take us to the cargo bay. I’ll try to stomach it.” He feels Venom grin.

Drake briefly offers him a peculiar expression before wordlessly leading them to the back of the spacecraft.

-

“Why didn’t you feed back there?”

Riot remains silent, using Drake’s hands to navigate the ship.

“It seems like you’re exerting more energy than Venom, I think it’s reasonable to assume that you also need sustenance in some form.” More silence. “Can you answer me on this one? Your body is a part of mine, I think it’s important for me to know the mechanics of it.”

**I told you, I do not require social interaction.**

“I’m aware. Are you even listening to me?”

**Vaguely.**

“What do you mean, vaguely? You’re ignoring me?”

**I am trying to, yes.**

“So you were ignoring me when I was showing Venom and Eddie where the bodies are, too? Is that why you weren’t feeding? Because you didn’t  _ notice _ that we were in the cargo bay?”

**I do have a mind of my own. It is not my responsibility to monitor your every action in your inferior form.**

“Oh.” Drake remarks, despondent. “I suppose you’re correct.” After a few minutes of staring into the repetitive expanse of space, he continues. “It just seems, to me, that Venom does respond to almost all of Eddie’s actions in human form. I thought that was normal.”

**Are you still speaking to me?**

“These are my final thoughts.”

**Then, it is not.**

“What isn’t?”

**Venom’s attitude is not normal.**


	2. Drake Tries Really Hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More tragedy as Carlton Drake is ruthlessly verbally abused by his symbiote. Meanwhile, Venom and Eddie are just having a good time.

The ship has been rocketing through space for exactly one week. Carlton Drake briefly considers celebrating the occasion, but he assumes Riot wouldn’t approve. He hasn’t spoken to Riot since the day they embarked, instead opting, reluctantly, to converse with Eddie and, consequently, Venom. The two have grown more comfortable living within the spacecraft, though they harbor some reasonable resentment of the mission’s goal. 

“Wait a minute, there’s a bedroom in here?” Eddie shouts, interrupting Drake’s thought process. Venom’s tendrils carry him closer. “What the hell? Why don’t I get one?”

Drake sighs. “Are you telling me that you haven’t been sleeping in the bedrooms?” He takes Eddie’s vaguely distraught expression as an affirmative. “Dare I ask, how have you been sleeping?”

“Well, Venom just kind of sticks my body to the floor--so I don’t float away or anything--and then uses the rest of his body to wrap around me, kind of like a blanket. I mean, I have to use my arm as a pillow, but other than that, it’s all good.” Eddie’s face morphs into a now familiar countenance as he stares at nothing with half a smirk on his face. “No, it’s okay, really, I prefer my arm” he says, still staring at an empty wall. “Thanks for offering, though.” He meets Drake’s eyes again. “Sorry, I was talking to Venom.”

“I gathered as much.”

Venom emerges from Eddie’s shoulder blade.  **“Food.”**

“I’ll open the cargo bay,” Drake tells Venom, “and I’ll show Eddie to his evidently new bedroom on the way.” Venom silently retreats back into Eddie.

“Yeah, yeah,  _ our _ bedroom,” Eddie mumbles.

Drake stumbles through the vacancy of the spacecraft, this path being unfamiliar to him. Behind him, he hears the moist grip of Venom’s tendrils as Eddie attempts to follow him. A few meters (and a few minutes) later, Drake opens one of the largest unmarked doors to reveal a bedroom identical to his own. 

“Wow, this is gonna be a life saver!” Eddie exclaims, Venom’s tendrils allowing him to sprint to the bed. “It’s kinda cold in here, though.”

“Oh, yes,” Drake begins, happy to play the role of scientist/tour guide, “the door has been entirely sealed for the duration of the expedition, thus--” he is interrupted by a familiar sound. Venom has fashioned himself into a sweater for Eddie, who is joyously examining his own figure. 

“Thank you,” Eddie whispers.

“ **You’re welcome,** ” comes Venom’s low purr. 

“I think we should really be going to the cargo bay,” Drake announces, consciously interrupting the intimate moment. Eddie’s face visibly falls and his Venom-sweater, in turn, visibly tightens around him. 

-

“Riot?”

**What?**

“It’s quite cold in this cockpit.”

**Symbiotes are not affected by temperature.**

“ _ I’m _ cold, then.”

**Perhaps you should have worn warmer clothes.**

“I suppose so.”

\- 

“..Riot?”

**Why are you speaking to me again? I am aware that the temperature is not ideal for your fragile skin.**

“No, I wanted to talk about something else.” Drake guilelessly awaits a response, still surprised when it doesn’t come. He continues, “Also, that was four hours ago.”

**Symbiotes do not process time in human terms.**

“Oh, really? Can you tell me more about that? How do you process time?” Riot remains silent. “Did you stop listening to me again?”

**Yes. I also decided that my time is not worth responding to you regarding trivial matters.**

“Funny,” Drake says, barely sarcastic, “but this isn’t trivial.”

**There is nothing out of order with the spacecraft.**

“I know.” Drake sighs, frustrated. “No, I was just--intellectually curious about Eddie and Venom’s bond. They appear to be making explicit sacrifices for one another. Eddie is clearly uncomfortable with Venom’s feeding process, but in spite of that, he still allows Venom to feed every few days.”

**Hosts should make sacrifices for the symbiote.**

“I’m not making any sacrifices for you.”

**It’s good that you think that.**

“What do you mean?” Riot stays silent. Drake doesn’t try to speak to him again that day.

-

“This is so fucking boring. Didn’t think I’d ever miss my shithole apartment, but here I am.”

**Eddie, we are here--**

“Together,” Eddie says with Venom, “I know. But I just can’t handle being the only human here. In fucking space. Other than Drake, I guess, but he barely counts.” Venom seeps between Eddie’s fingers. Eddie smiles and stops talking, closing his eyes.

“Are you okay? You haven’t moved in an hour.”

Eddie startles at the sound of Drake’s voice. “Are you saying you’ve been watching me for an hour?”

Drake doesn’t respond, attention diverted to Eddie’s hands. “Is Venom okay?”

“Yeah, we’re fine, why?”

“Can I not express concern about the passengers aboard  _ my  _ ship?”

“Whatever, dude.” Drake leaves without a response, visibly irritated. Venom sinks back into Eddie’s palms as he changes position. “What was that all about?”

**It doesn’t matter, let’s go to our bedroom.**

“Alright, calm down,” Eddie laughs. “Let’s go.”

-

Drake returns to the cockpit cautiously. He’s gotten used to Riot’s initial transition from his dormant to active states, but the process of relinquishing control of his own body still feels foreign and unnerving. He decides to try something new.

**What are you doing?**

Drake stands with his arm outstretched. “I thought you might want to materialize from my palm, rather than controlling my hand.”

**Why?**

“I saw Venom in Eddie’s hands. So, I assumed that you might enjoy that too. I do value your wellbeing, I hope that I’m not limiting you from doing what makes you feel most comfortable.”

Riot has no verbal response, instead taking control of Drake’s legs to move him closer to the control panel.

“So,” Drake posits, “it’s more comfortable for you to use my body rather than materialize outside of it?”

**Yes.**

Drake is grateful for the response. “In that case, why was Venom willing to hold Eddie’s hand for so long?” This time, there is no reply.

-

Eddie’s rapid breathing slows as Venom’s tendrils pull out of his orifices. He can still feel the sting of Venom’s bite on his thigh as his leg spasms one last time. The symbiote’s face lingers in front of Eddie’s for a few seconds before receding back into his chest. 

**Not bored now, right?**

Venom’s smooth timbre rumbles within him. Eddie chuckles. “No, definitely not.” They both stare at the ceiling until they fall asleep.

-

“Brock?”

For the second time that day, Eddie’s sleep is interrupted by the unapologetic tone of Drake’s voice. Eddie rolls over and murmurs, “What? I was fucking sleeping.”

Drake makes his way further into the room. “I heard some strange noises coming from here a while ago. I would have come sooner, but Riot had to man the ship.”

“Ah, shit, we must’ve forgot to close the door, sorry.”

**Don’t apologize for your natural reactions, Eddie.**

“I’m not, I’m just apologizing for the door,” he murmurs in response.

“What were you doing?” Drake presses.

“What do you mean, what were we doing? You know what we were doing, if you heard us.”

“I assure you that I do not. It is my responsibility to know everything that goes on in this ship to ensure safe travel,” Drake asserts haughtily.

**Tell him, don’t be ashamed.**

“Oh, I know, I’m not ashamed. Obviously, he has his own creature inside him too. Just wasn’t expecting that his delicate super-smart ears could handle hearing something like that out loud,” Eddie says back, under his breath. He meets eyes with Drake, who’s been staring at him with an unchanging expression. “We were fucking, Drake.”

Drake is finally rattled. He gawks at Eddie with wide eyes. “What did you say?”

“You know, fucking. Same thing you’re doing with Riot up in the cockpit. Or wherever.”

Drake leaves without another word, stepping out of the room as assertively as he can, given the inherent conditions of space.

“Got ‘im,” Eddie laughs, “Such a fucking hypocrite, he can do whatever gross things he wants, but as soon as I say them out loud it’s like  _ I’m  _ the bad guy.”

**We’re not gross, Eddie.**

“Of course. I just mean--you saw how he reacted, right? As if he and Riot are any classier.”

**We’re classy, Eddie.**

“Damn right, we are.”

-

Carlton Drake glares forward through the spacecraft’s windshield, his hands moving automatically through Riot’s control. His mind keeps drifting back to his encounter with Brock. As the empty expanse of space surrounds the ship, Drake somehow feels more alone than before. His internal monologue stops abruptly as he feels a foreign sensation in his back. 

**“Drake.”**

For the first time since the ship’s launch, Riot has manifested physically.

“Oh!” Drake notes, with dignity and poise, “... How are you?”

**“I cannot control the spacecraft if your mind is not alert.”**

“I’m so sorry, I’ll pay attention.”

**“This is crucial to the mission.”**

“I know.” Drake pauses. “You didn’t see exactly what my mind was focused on, right?”

**“I don’t bother myself with irrelevant things.”**

“Right, of course.” Riot begins to recede back into Drake’s body. “Wait, wait,” Drake says hurriedly. He has an idea. “You look good.”

**“What?”**

“I’m just saying, I haven’t seen you since we were on Earth. You look good.”

**“What are you talking about?”**

Drake unbuttons his shirt, internally wondering how Brock manages to get this started with Venom. 

**“What is the purpose of this?”**

“You tell me,” Drake responds with his best attempt at seduction. 

**“I was under the impression that you were cold.”**

“I’m glad you remembered, but let’s just say I’m not  _ cold _ anymore.” In truth, he is still cold, now that Riot brought it up. Nevertheless, Drake perseveres. He hazards a touch on what could be considered Riot’s neck. Riot takes the opportunity to seep into Drake’s fingers and manipulate them to button his shirt back up again. The rest of the night is spent in silence and Drake does not let his mind drift off again. That night.

-

**Drake.**

“What?”

**You are still distracted.**

Drake has no response.

**You have been distracted for three human days. It is difficult to function under these conditions.**

“I’m sorry.”

**What is distracting you?**

“I thought that was irrelevant.”

**It becomes relevant when your thoughts are directly impeding my mission.**

“Our mission. But--okay, fine.” Drake thinks back to his conversation with Brock. He recalls each time that he’s seen Venom’s tendrils peek out from Eddie’s wrists to help him find his balance within the ship. He recalls Venom clothing Eddie when he was cold. He recalls the distinct smile that adorns Eddie’s countenance each time that Venom speaks to him. All these memories which have worn on Drake throughout these long and drawn out days manifest themselves in the singular emotion of envy.

**Tell me.**

Drake is broken out of his strained meditation. “You can’t read my thoughts?”

**Not when your thoughts are so unclear.**

“My thoughts  _ are  _ clear!”

**Evidently, they are not.**

Drake fumes. “Venom can read Brock’s thoughts without an ounce of effort on either part! I was under the impression that you were the superior symbiote.”

**I am the superior symbiote because I understand the natural hierarchy. You understand this as well. This is why I chose you as my host.**

This satiates Drake. He doesn’t let himself dwell on the subject, lest he distract himself from the control panel once again.

**What** **_exactly_ ** **is Venom doing with his host?**

“Well,” Drake begins, trying to impress Riot with his understanding of the symbiote species, “since Brock is a naturally unmotivated, helpless, and crass person, I believe that Venom has adopted some of these characteristics and has elected to help Brock with others. Thus, Venom is assisting him with his usual routine. Including some form of sexual intercourse.”

**What?**

“On that note, I was wondering how symbiotes repro--” Drake’s hands recoil from the control panel as Riot takes control of Drake’s body to manifest himself entirely.

-

**Remember when we were in that lobster tank, Eddie?**

“Yeah. Good times. Back when we weren’t being held hostage on this ship to nowhere that’s gonna bring an end to humanity or whatever.”

**Yes. Do you think there are any lobsters in here?**

“Sorry, I don’t think so.”

**Why not?**

“Ask Drake. He’s the one who stocked the ship.”

**Let’s ask. Where is he?**

“First of all, let’s  _ not  _ ask. He’ll probably call me an idiot or something stupid like that. But also, I don’t think I’ve seen him for a few days. Or hours. Wish I had a watch…” There’s a sudden noise from the cockpit. “The fuck was that?”

With heavy steps Riot makes his way into the ship’s main area.

“Ugh, god, I forgot how gross he looks.”

**I know, right?**

**“Show yourself, Venom,”** Riot commands.

Eddie and Venom easily assume their shared physical form.  **“What do you want?”**

**“I demand that you tell me what you’ve been doing with your host.”**

**“We are trying to have fun on this boring ship,”** Venom snarls. 

“Remember,” Eddie urges from within him, “we can’t kill him--even if he’s ugly as hell. He’s the only one who can drive the ship.”

**“Yes, I know, we won’t kill him.”**

**“What?”** Riot asks incredulously.

**“Nothing.”**

**“This is what I mean, Venom. Your human is influencing you. You are sacrificing yourself for him. Why? He’s not even smart.”**

“Hey! That’s kind of mean!” 

**“That’s rude, Riot. I am not influenced by Eddie. We are together in this. We are Venom.**

“Aw, thanks, dude.”

Riot emits what Eddie assumes is supposed to be a sigh, but it comes out as more of a soft roar.  **“Venom, your potential is greater than,”** he gestures vaguely at Venom’s form,  **“this. It is of no extreme matter, since you’ll be acquiring and exhausting an abundance of hosts once we come back to Earth, but I would appreciate if you didn’t forfeit your naturally superior nature for something so… unremarkable.”**

“Okay, I’ll be honest, I zoned out about halfway through that speech, but I think it was kind of mean too!”

**“Riot, if you’re so smart, then why don’t you understand that together, with Eddie, we are at our peak form. Together, we are naturally superior. And also much cooler than you.**

“Got ‘im!”

**“If that’s really the case, Venom, then I see that you have already sacrificed too much of your brain power to be a functioning member of the symbiote species. I will assure that you are removed from your host once the time comes. Maybe there is hope for you.”** Riot recedes back into Drake’s body and Venom does the same.

“Woah!” Eddie blurts.

“What?” Drake responds, agitated.

“You don’t look so good, man,” Eddie says reluctantly, scrutinizing Drake’s pale and sickly form. Drake’s tired eyes are apparently still able enough to hold a resentful expression.

“You’re telling me? You’ve never looked good in your life, Brock.”

“No, I mean--you look sick. Do you feel okay?” Eddie hesitates before continuing, “Shouldn’t Riot be fixing you? Internally?”

“Obviously, I’m fine. There must be something wrong with your eyes. If anything, I might have caught a cold. Even the best are susceptible.” Drake leaves with that, struggling to return to the cockpit.

Eddie waits until he’s gone to ask Venom, “How’d he catch a cold in space?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ended up getting very abstract and longer than expected. Next chapter will hopefully be coming... soon? 
> 
> Thank you so much to Balshumet for beta'ing and generally dealing with my vague and convoluted concept for the fic. Also for discussing symbiote hierarchy and relationships with me EXTENSIVELY. Thank you also to hauntedfiremilkshake for finding and fixing all my grammatical errors and flow issues. Always necessary.


End file.
